Retail 2024: JACK WOODFIN
For Woodfin, heating and cooling is a family affair: His parents, John and Anne, started Woodfin Heating in 1977 to sell heating oil, growing it into one of the largest privately held HVAC-related businesses in Virginia. A Virginia Military Institute and University of Virginia Darden School of Business alum, Woodfin began workin[...]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2024: ELIZABETH A. McCLANAHAN
A Buchanan County native, McClanahan has led the Virginia Tech Foundation since 2021. She was previously a state Supreme Court justice and president and dean of the Appalachian School of Law. McClanahan, who fondly recalls attending 4-H Congress on the Virginia Tech campus as a teenager, also serves as a senior adviser to the de[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: KIM LYNCH
Lynch joined Fortune 500 tech company Oracle in January 2023. As Oracle’s executive vice president of government intelligence and defense, Lynch has executed Oracle’s growth strategy and driven innovation in cloud technology. In August 2023, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure was approved to host top secret/sensitive compar[...]
Economic Development 2024: BUDDY RIZER
Loudoun County has landed approximately $8 billion in new commercial investment for fiscal year 2024, according to the county’s economic development department. This year, construction began on the $3 billion Rivana at Innovation Station project, a 6.4 million-square-foot mixed-use development. Rizer has headed LoudounR[...]
Retail 2024: KATE MORA
Kroger tapped Mora to lead its mid-Atlantic division in August. She replaced Lori Raya, who retired after holding the role since 2021. Mora joined Kroger in 2022 as vice president on special assignment supporting End-to-End Fresh, an initiative designed to get the freshest food to shoppers. She went on to serve as vice president[...]
Insurance 2024: JOHN C. STANCHINA
Since 2011, Stanchina has led the mid-Atlantic region for Marsh McLennan Agency, which provides business insurance, employee health and benefits, retirement and private client insurance solutions. The region includes offices in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Stanchina overs[...]
Transportation 2024: SHEPPARD ‘SHEP’ MILLER III
A former defense contracting executive and Norfolk native, Miller was appointed secretary by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2022. He is responsible for Virginia’s rail, roads, transit and ports. As chair of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, Miller has a great deal of say on the state’s transportation funding of major ro[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: DAVID LEVY
In October 2023, Levy was tapped to lead Amazon Web Service’s worldwide public sector business, overseeing government contracting activities for Amazon.com’s cloud computing subsidiary, as well as business for educational, nonprofit and health care organizations. In 2023, AWS recorded $90 billion in net sales, up fro[...]
Banking | Finance 2024: JOHN C. ASBURY
In April, Atlantic Union Bankshares, the holding company for Atlantic Union Bank, completed its acquisition of Danville-based American National Bankshares, parent company of American National Bank and Trust — a transaction valued at about $507 million. The combined bank has $24.3 billion in total assets, $19.4 billion in depos[...]
Health Care 2024: ANTHONY ‘TONY’ BAKER
Baker leads Fortune 500 pharma manufacturer Merck’s vaccine operations in Elkton. The company founded a plant in the Rockingham County town in 1941. Early in his career, Baker spent seven years at Pennsylvania-based Biopharm Project Solutions as a senior process specialist. He joined Merck in 2008 as a process engineer and[...]
Retail 2024: DREW PARKER
Carter Machinery has deep roots in Virginia, tracing back to 1928, when Robert Hill Carter founded Virginia Tractor in Richmond. The company was the state’s first Caterpillar dealership, and it is still going today as an independent dealer with more than 30 locations. It has more than 2,300 employees in Virginia, West Virg[...]
Transportation 2024: JOSEPH P. ‘JOE’ RUDDY
Ruddy, who has served two terms as COO, from 2011 to 2014, and since 2021, oversees information technology, safety, security, expansion projects and maintenance for the Virginia Port Authority affiliate that runs the Port of Virginia. That’s always a big job, but the past year has added some extra challenges. This spring, [...]




















